THIS is with reference to the report ‘Neighbourhoods under threat as LA fire rages on’ (Jan 13), according to which, 30,000 acres of land in Los Angeles have so far been burned and 180,000 people have been evacuated. Scores of people have died, and cases of theft have been reported. This is a tragedy for the United States.

Having said that, I find it strange that some people in Pakistan are taking this to be divine retribution for what has been happening in the Middle East, especially Gaza. Unable to take any meaningful action themselves, they comfort themselves with the idea that God has punished America on their behalf.

Just imagine what might have happened if such a fire had erupted in Pakistan. Thousands of people would have perished by now. We lack fire engines to extinguish such a blaze. Firefighting aircraft are entirely out of the question. Our fire tenders often lack water, fuel and even proper maintenance.

Our firefighters are inadequately trained, and our buildings are not equi-pped with proper entry and exit routes meant for emergencies. Public awareness and training on what to do in the event of a fire are virtually non-existent.

The mindset is comparable to that of a villager’s serfs, who, unable to confront the landlord directly, celebrate when his buffalo dies. They consider it divine punishment for the landlord. Yet, they forget that the landlord will recover the loss by extracting even more from them.

Haq Nawaz Mahesar
Naushahro Feroze

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2025